This invention relates generally to processing within a computing environment, and more particularly to a relocatable interrupt handler for test generation and execution.
Testing interrupts is an important part of processor verification. One method of processor verification includes using a test generator to create appropriate tests for the system and to trigger interrupts. An interrupt, when triggered, is designed to stop system processing, and therefore, a test generator generally has an interrupt handler for processing the interrupts. The main purpose of the interrupt handler is to return processing back to the instruction stream after the interrupt is detected. In some instances, the test generator may also need to fix the conditions that caused the interrupt. When creating long running tests, successful generation of many interrupts, followed by correcting of any faults, is often required. As the number of interrupt decisions that the interrupt handler has to perform increases, the amount of code in the interrupt handler assembly routine also increases.